Dive Liveaboard Blue Dragon 2 sinks in Komodo

The dive liveaboard "MV Blue Dragon 2" sank during the early morning hours of 14 Sep 2010 "after being pushed onto a shallow reef near Manta Alley (Loh Sera) in South Komodo" according to a statement by the owners on their Facebook site. "There was no lost of live [sic] and no injuries," the statement continued. "All guests and crew were safely evacuated to Labuan Bajo, then back to Bali and are now on their way home."

A report in the Bali Times, however, said that two persons, a divemaster and a cook, were injured as the sinking forced "a dozen panicked foreigners to scramble to safety", citing Dody Donatus, reservations and ticketing clerk with Blue Dragon Indonesia, which operated the vessel and a sister-ship, Blue Dragon 1. The report said there were 12 guests aboard the stricken craft "from Japan, the United States, Taiwan and Singapore [who] were taken to Labuan Baju before flying to Bali on Thursday morning. The injured crew were to receive further medical attention in Bali. Blue Dragon Indonesia owner Emil Bei, from Flores, was with the guests at Ngurah Rai International Airport as his company attempted to secure accommodation for them. “We have been trying to book accommodation for them since yesterday,” Donatus said. See: "Two injured as dive boat sinks off Komodo".

The vessel was a Phinisi schooner, 28 m, built in 2009, and began operations in April this year. The company, which has a sales office in Bali but apparently is based in Malaysia, also operates another Phinisi live-aboard, the 26 m MV Blue Dragon I, which was built in 2008.

Manta Alley has been a popular dive site in South Komodo for many years.